Facebook and Google could soon have much higher taxes in the UK, report says

Facebook and Google could soon have much higher taxes in the U.K., according to a BBC report.

Regulators are eyeing a proposal that would tax the internet giants on total revenue, instead of profit, the British government’s economic policy agency told the news outlet. That would tax the companies more proportionally based on the amount of business they do in the U.K.

European authorities have been considering the idea of higher taxes for digital giants for months.

“At the moment [they] are generating very significant value in the U.K., typically through having a digital platform with lots of users interacting with that platform,” Financial Secretary to the Treasury Mel Stride told the BBC.

“That is driving a lot of value, so you’re looking at social media platforms, online marketplaces, internet search engines — where at the moment the tax regime is not taxing those activities fairly,” Stride said.